Weakened by disease

Malaria stunts the economies of countries in the tropics, curbing growth by
1.3 per cent per year, according to a team from the Centre for International
Development at Harvard University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine. Their report, commissioned by the World Health Organization and
published this week, says an immediate funding increase of $1 billion is
needed to control the disease, and that this would immediately save regions
where malaria is endemic up to $12 billion a year on treatment and lost
productivity.